Eyes Like Sunsets.

Together John and I walk alongside one another around the venue. Surprisingly, he’s only stopped once by a young girl with her older brother. She smiles sweetly and asks him a few questions while her brother looks extremely impatient, tapping his foot away wildly and pulling out his cell phone every three or so seconds. Near the end of their conversation the young girl scrunches up her face in my direction and motions John to move closer. He does and she whispers something in his ear that earns a small chuckle and a nod. The girl then gives me another weird look, asks for a picture with John, and stalks away at the account of her brother’s boredom.

After they’re out of ear shot and we’re on the move again I give John a curious expression and brush some of my dreads behind my left ear. “What did she say to you?” I ask.

John, with his hands shoved deep inside the pockets of his jeans looks at me, smirks, and then looks away. “What do you want to eat?” He changes the subject.

I want to know what the little girl asked him, but considering he’s so fond of dancing away from the subject rather than around it I follow his lead and start a completely different conversation. “Uh, pizza sounds good right now.”

“Vegetarian?” He asks.

I chuckle slightly. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Maybe not to other people, but I’m pretty good at reading others.” John smiles that usual smile of his that makes me weak in the knees just like every other girl who came to see him and the rest of The Maine. “Wait here, I’ll be right back okay?” He puts his hands on my shoulders and gives me sort of a light push. I sit on the grass, crossing my legs in order to get comfortable while I wait for him to get back.

For a while I sit alone, pulling grass from the ground. I make a couple piles of it before putting them all together to make one massive one. However, once that’s finished I get bored again. Sighing deeply, my eyes glance around my surroundings at an attempt to find John. He’s no where to be seen which gets me worried. Maybe he decided I wasn’t what he wanted and decided to ditch me here? No. That can’t be it. He’s not that kind of person… or is he? I mean, how am I supposed to know? I’m just a fan. I’m nothing special. I’m not a friend or a girlfriend. I’m a fan who’s making this whole “date” thing a big deal when it’s not. Just because he said the word date doesn’t mean it actually is one. It’s a figure of speech. He’s taking me out to lunch because he feels sorry for me. Yeah, that’s probably it isn’t it.

“One vegetarian pizza on the house,” John’s voice causes my heart to beat fast and my head to whip around. There he is with that same smile, gripping a large pizza box in his hand and a beer underneath each elbow. He gives me the pizza box to hold while he sits down and carefully drops both beers on ground.

“Thanks, but you really didn’t have to pay for the whole thing.” I say, opening the box and taking a slice. It smells so good.

“I didn’t.” He replies. “It’s on the house, remember?”

“Right, I totally knew that.” I roll my eyes and take a bite. It’s hot, but not hot enough to burn my mouth. Not to mention the fact that it tastes absolutely delicious. The cheese mixed with the thin crust and the many vegetables makes the whole thing simply amazing. “Mmm…”

“Good enough for you?”

I nod.

“That’s good.” John grabs one of the beers and cracks it open. “Try this.” He hands me the can and then grabs his own, opens it, and takes a long chug.

The can looks tempting, but forbidden at the same time. Never in my life have I had alcohol and at this point I was sort of proud of it. Being a straight edge isn’t the easiest thing to do, especially at the age I’m at right now. Sure, lots of people tell me that it’s fun to drink, but that doesn’t make it any more tempting. Most times I’m actually not tempted by alcohol at all. It’s just with John sitting there, giving me that adorable smile its hard not to get nervous and give into temptation.

“Uh,” I look at John, at the can, and then back at him.

“I forgot –you don’t drink do you?”

I shake my head and take another bite of pizza silently. I feel kind of bad for not drinking it, but I can’t bring myself to actually do so. “Sorry. I’m just… not the drinking type.”

He downs the rest of his can and takes mine. “That’s fine; it just means more for me.” He smiles and opens the beer that originally was mine and takes another sip. “On that note I’m assuming you’re backing out of that drink you owe me tonight.”

Shit. I totally forgot about that. What am I supposed to say? If I say yes something might happen that I don’t want. If I say no though, nothing will and I really want something good to happen, even if it’s just for the night. Maybe come up with a compromise? Hm. What would Megan say in a situation like this? She’d probably flirt which is bad because I can’t flirting worth crap. Well, it’s worth a shot I guess.

“Only if you turn out to be a gentleman,” I say with a smirk.

“A gentleman, huh?” He laughs, raising both brows.

I nod, hoping it doesn’t sound too dorky because if it does I’m pretty much screwed for the rest of the night.

“I’ll take that bet.”

“What bet?” I ask, confused.

“The one we just made.” He replies. “If I just so happen to be the nicest and most gentleman-like guy you’ve ever had the privilege of encountering then after the show you’re coming backstage and taking at least three shots with me. If not, well, then I skip the after party and do whatever you want.”

I press my lips together, holding back a small grin that’s trying to break free. No matter what I still get to be with him all day which is really nice. Plus, if I decide that I don’t want to drink I can always just lie and get him to do whatever I want with me.

“Deal.” I hold out my hand to make the deal official. When he grabs it its warm and causes my finger tips to tingle.

“One rule though, absolutely no lying.”

“Fine, whatever you say.” I reply casually.

“Alright then. Deal.”

“You have no idea what you just got yourself into O’Callaghan.” I smirk, pulling his body close to mine.

“Oh Dreads, but I have.” He pulls me against his chest and kisses my cheek, leaving me flustered, confused, and utterly foot-swept. My cheeks heat up to a degree I’ve never experienced and my head feels light. “Gentleman enough?”

All I can do is smile.